


Traditions

by princelyprincess



Category: RF4 - Fandom, Rune Factory 4
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 14:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5499755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princelyprincess/pseuds/princelyprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For fandomfanficsgalore, as a part of the Rune Factory Secret Santa 2015! She requested some Arthur/Kiel fluff, so please enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> To: fandomfanficsgalore  
> From: Your Santa!  
> You're so very talented, and I hope you always remember that.

The large wreath hanging on the restaurant's door jingled with a pleasant charm, serving as some sort of reminder as to how late Arthur actually was to his own party, he looked down at his watch and read the time. A quarter to nine. He exhaled and prepared to apologize to his guests- all of whom were probably enjoying the various delights that Porcoline had prepared. He stared down at the gift in his hands and a pinch of remorseful nervousness took over. As he began to go upstairs, a small bubbling body came crashing down onto him. 

“Oh Jeez, sorry Arthur.” Keil remarked sheepishly, Arthur rubbed his arm and looked up at his assailant, a sweet pink rosening his cheeks when he realized it was Kiel.

“You’re awful late.” Kiel frowned, Arthur shared his expression and clasped his hands around a wrapped present defensively. 

“Yes, well, I was caught up in the royal court this evening, and then I had to run a last minute errand.” 

“Oh yeah!” Kiel exclaimed, “I heard there was a murder, and that the royal family was behind it the entire time!” Arthur relaxed and laughed at Kiel’s story, “Would you have, by chance, heard that from Illuminata?” 

“Mmhm! She said she had solved another case!” he smiled joyfully. 

“I’m afraid not,” Arthur smiled, “My family has had no part in any murder, in fact, the case was simply about land ownership- nothing exciting, I can assure you.” Kiel frowned at this news, and then hunched over, catching a glimpse of the gift in Arthur’s hands.

“Huh? Did you bring a gift for someone you love too?” Kiel asked, eyes bright with anticipation. 

Arthur was well aware of the Selphian tradition to exchange gifts with the person you would like to spend the upcoming year with on the eve of Christmas annually, even Frey had caught on to the embarrassing custom, and had chosen to participate with Leon. Their gifts had been exchanged earlier in the day and rumored to have lead to some questionable decisions on their part. But now, confronted by the boy he had wanted to exchange his gift with, Arthur couldn’t help but fluster in embarrassment. 

“Y-yes, I have. Have you- well, have you already exchanged your gift?” Arthur asked, not really wanting to hear the answer in fear of rejection. 

“Oh no, he- well, he doesn’t feel that way towards anyone really.” Kiel said with a sad smile, “I mean- I do have a present, I just don’t know if I can work up the courage to give it to him!” 

Arthur sat in a nearby chair feeling dejected, he tried to cover his obvious disappointment with a blank poker-face, and luckily, Kiel’s cluelessness was working towards his advantage. 

_ “Doesn’t feel that way towards anyone?” _ He thought. 

There was no way that Kiel  _ wasn’t  _ talking about Dylas, he was the most distant and off-putting of all the bachelors in Selphia, and in some sick way it came to Arthur as no surprise that Kiel had taken a liking to him. Having lived with him for the past couple of months Arthur had witnessed some of the charm Dylas possessed underneath his gruff exterior. Regardless, he didn’t want to see Kiel disappointed, or worse, come to regret the night, so he chose his next words carefully, and with an exhale said:

“Well then, I suppose we’re in a similar situation. But think of it this way: if you don’t exchange the gift you’ll certainly regret it. You can’t know for sure how he feels, and you’ll be no closer to knowing if you don’t put yourself out there. So tonight, you and I will exchange our gifts to their intended recipient. Deal?” 

“Sure.” Kiel smiled sweetly, “But Arthur, who do you-” 

“Kiel? Kiel! You’ve been gone way too long! Where are you?” Forte shouted down the stairs interrupting Kiel’s chance to ask his prying question. Protective in nature, Forte had noticed her brother’s extended absence and taken measures to ensure his safety. 

“Midnight- that’s when we have to give it to them.” Kiel whispered in Arthur's ear, causing Arthur to blush slightly. He nodded in response to Kiel and looked cheerfully up the stairs towards Forte. 

“Pardon his absence, I’m afraid we got caught up talking-” Arthur looked down at his watch; it was nine-thirty, “My, I really didn’t mean to cause alarm, we’re coming now.” 

Side by side Arthur and Kiel made their way up the stairs into Porcoline’s room where the party was being held. The walls were brightly lit with string lights and paper snowflakes, in each of the corners was a table full of food decorated festively.

“Ah! Kiel, did you grab that wondderful bottle opener?” Porcoline asked with his usual enthusiasm. 

“Oh!” Kiel responded, remembering the original intent of his journey downstairs. 

“It’s alright,” Arthur smiled, “I was the last to arrive so I’ll go get it. Don’t worry, enjoy yourself.” Arthur smiled to his guests. They smiled back and resumed their activities while Arthur went downstairs. 

As he descended, Arthur let out a long sigh. Why had he agreed to give his present to Kiel? He knew it would only end in embarrassment, Kiel would give his gift to Dylas, and then he would...Arthur shivered the thought away. His heart sank as he reached the kitchen, and looked out into the empty serving room of the restaurant. A tall pine decorated with red and gold bulbs sat out in the open space, Arthur remembered dressing the tree only a few weeks earlier. Dylas, Margaret, Kiel, Forte, Porcoline, and himself had surrounded the giant of a tree and undertaken the task of decoration. Thinking about it, it had been in those moments of tinsel and cheerful holiday music that Arthur had decided to give his gift to Kiel, he had, more than anything, wanted to spend the year to come in a relationship with the boy he loved. Those dreams were now crushed, the practicality of it was far too slim, especially now that he knew Kiel’s true feelings. Grabbing the bottle opener he had promised to retrieve, Arthur pushed away his sulky thoughts and headed back towards the stairs.

Upon arriving a second time late to the party  _ he _ had organized and invited everyone to, Arthur could easily see the holiday cheer within the room. Frey, Leon, Clorica and Lest were all cheerfully in a corner- no doubt talking about their romantic adventures and making plans for the upcoming year. Margaret was with Forte, who for the life of her couldn’t hide the feelings she had for her best friend, but Margaret- either honestly oblivious or not interested, didn’t share the same expression. Porcoline was speaking with Nancy and Jones, both of whom had taken a break from showing the passion of their marriage in an outlandish PDA performance, and were laughing in general conversation. Venti (who was taking up most of the room) was being entertained by Vishnal and Volkanon, who were taking part in an odd game of charades, while Dolce, Xiao Pai, and Amber served as onlookers laughing at the men’s silliness. Lastly was Doug, Dylas and Kiel, all in a corner of the room. Kiel looked innocently confused as he witnessed the clear tension between the two other boys. Arthur so desperately wanted to head in that direction, but knowing how Kiel felt, decided to let him have space with his intended suitor and joined Ventuswill. The evening carried on that way: Arthur standing close to Venti, watching the men do ridiculous actions while other guests cheered them on. 

The laughter in the room began to cease around eleven. At this point most of the guests had been yawning, and exhausted from eating and chatting the night away, began to leave. As arthur was smiling and thanking the last of his guests for coming, he came upon  Kiel, Margaret and Forte, who was pink and giggly.

“Enjoy yourself?” Arthur asked kindly.

“Oh yes, thank you for the invitation!” Forte said enthusiastically, behind her Margaret smiled sheepishly.

“I had better get her home,” she said, one hand wrapped around her friend's waist, “thank you again, Arthur. Are you coming?” Margaret asked looking behind her shoulder at Kiel.

“Oh!” he replied, as if he had been lost in thought, “No, I think I’m going to stay and help Porco and Arthur clean up. Mind if I sleep over?” Kiel asked turning towards Arthur with a natural smile. Arthur felt his heart leap, but told himself not to overthink anything, he was simply being kind. However, remembering the deal he had made earlier, he frowned back at Kiel.

“Of course not, but we had a deal, don’t you remember?”

“Don’t worry,” Kiel smiled, “I plan on giving it to him no matter what!” Arthur smiled with odd relief, he was glad at least one of them would have their chance at a happy ending tonight. 

“Well then,” Meg said with a smile, “We’re off. Be safe boys!” Kiel happily waved as the two watched them turn down the street towards Margaret's house. 

After thirty-five minutes of nervous silence, the boys turned to one another. Porco had fallen asleep on his bed, and Arthur and Kiel had managed to silently clean up around him. Working together the room became as clean as it had ever been, but now that the actual work was done, Kiel stared at Arthur with a quizzical look.

“Hey, Arthur-”

“Shh.” Arthur replied brushing his index finger against his lip and nodding towards Procoline. Arthur took Kiel’s hand and led him out of the room, into his own, realizing his hand firmly gripped Kiel’s, he quickly released it. 

“Are you okay Arthur?” Kiel asked, a worried frown on his face. Arthur was surprised at the boy and furrowed his brow.

“Yes, why do you ask?” 

“I don’t know really, you’ve just been...weird tonight. I’ve hardly seen you at all! And now that I’m sleeping over, I figured we could talk, but it doesn’t seem like you want to do much of that.” Kiel pouted. 

Admittedly, Arthur  _ had  _ been avoiding Kiel, but for his own best interest! Arthur had wanted Kiel to have time with Dylas, and well, it was painful to see him. Kiel stared up at him with big blue eyes, demanding an answer for his recent behavior. 

“It’s not your fault don’t worry.” Arthur sighed. 

“Well then tell me! What’s this all about? Is it the present thing, because if it is-”

“No!” Arthur responded a little too quickly, with an embarrassed blush he rephrased.

“No, I think you should give your gift to Dylas, you never know, maybe he does feel that way about you Kiel.” Arthur said softly. 

“Dylas?” Kiel asked surprised, his mouth agape. 

“Isn’t that…? I thought your gift was for Dylas?” Arthur asked, stunned that his prediction had been incorrect. 

Kiel blushed with an embarrassed shock, and then laughed merrily.

“No way!” He turned towards the clock and softly smiled, it was finally midnight. “It’s you Arthur. My gift is for  _ you _ .” Now Arthur was the one in shock, he hadn’t been expecting this at all.

“I didn’t want to tell you because you don’t really share your feelings with anyone, and then once you brought a gift yourself, I was sure it wasn’t going to be me...but you made me make that deal, and now I’m here…” Kiel explained softly. In a spur of joy, Arthur took Kiel into his arms and pulling him close, brought his lips towards Kiels. Surprised, Kiel’s eyes widened but softly closed as they continued to kiss and Arthur’s embrace tightened with a feverous passion he had kept held back previously. Letting go of their kiss, Arthur held out his gift for Kiel with a blush.

“It’s for you.” 

“And this one’s for you!” Kiel added with a giddy smile. 

They sat across from one another on the bed, opening their respective gifts. Arthur's eyes widened at the unveiling of his gift. A small pair of spectacles lay in his hand. They had been hand crafted, no doubt, small vines and and a note on the side that read  _ “Be Mine”  _ were engraved into the bronzey wiring. Arthur looked up at Kiel who was blushing and staring back in anticipation.

“Do you like them?” he asked carefully.

“They’re the most beautiful pair I own.” Arthur responded truthfully, at this Kiel smiled widely, opening his own box. He lifted a thick book from the box and thumbed through the pages in amazement. It detailed on an array of subjects: the royal family, ancient sorcery, retellings of war, and more. The thick purple cover read  _ An Encyclopedia for the Wondering and Wise _ , Kiel’s smile widened and he jumped into Arthur hugging him deeply. Arthur nuzzled his neck and stroked Kiel’s back with his hand.

“I’m glad you like it, it’s been in the royal family’s possession for years.” Arthur spoke with a sly smile, “But I thought it was time it belong to someone who will truly appreciate it.” 

“Arthur I’m so happy.” Kiel smiled with a longing blush.

“So am I.” Arthur responded pressing his lips against Kiel’s softly. They lay together in the bed kissing one another for awhile, until the air chilled and it was much into the early hours of the morning.    
“We should be sleepinggg.” Kiel yawned cutely at Arthur. Arthur just smiled, and tossed him a shirt and a spare pair of sleeping shorts. 

“Here, but these on, we’ll go to bed.” he smiled.

“ _ These _ ?! I’ll freeze!” Kiel exclaimed. 

“No you won’t.” Arthur replied slyly, kissing his neck gently, “That’s what I’m here for.” Kiel blushed and nodded with a smile.

Dressed for bed the two lay together wrapped in each other’s embrace. Arthur swung his large arms around Kiel protectively and nuzzled the top of his head after kissing it gently. 

“Arthur..?” Kiel asked with a nervous squirm.

“Mhm?” Arthur replied sleepily.

“I want...I want to be with you for a long time.” He responded, thankful for the darkness hiding his face. 

“Me too.” Arthur said, kissing Kiel for what felt like the first time that night. 

“Merry Christmas” Kiel whispered into the darkness after his lips parted from Arthur’s.

“Merry Christmas.” Arthur smiled in the warmth of Kiel’s body. They laid like that together until morning, cuddled close, resisting the cold, letting their feelings grow in a newly blossomed relationship.


End file.
